Sharpe James ordered to return money

A court has ordered former Newark Mayor, current felon, Sharpe James to reimburse his campaign fund $94,000 for money he used in his legal defense. That campaign fund remains active although he is banned from holding office after his 2008 fraud conviction — think that law needs to be changed? The judge also fined James $30,000. The suit over the money was filed by the state Election Law Enforcement Commission. James James told the Star-Ledger the ruling was a gross injustice.

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About Bob Ingle

Bob Ingle is Senior Political Columnist for Gannett New Jersey newspapers and co-author of The New York Times' Best Seller, "The Soprano State: New Jersey's Culture of Corruption" and "Chris Christie: The Inside Story Of His Rise To Power". He has won numerous journalism awards and is often a news analyst on radio and television. Twitter @ bobingle99.

McGreevey, Wayne Bryant, Sharpe James—-political thieves gravitate toward NJ’s corrupt education system. Sharpe taught at a community college 20 years earlier—and they held his pension all that time….ROTFL.

AND THEN THERE’S BURNHAM’S OUTRAGEOUS $267,000 TUITION PERK—the APPress reported that in renegotiating Burnham’s contract, the Brookdale board said the “tuition reimbursement was put into the 2003 contract.

Burnham “said” he was offered a job as vice chancellor of the State University of New York’s (SUNY) community college system.” Burnham “said” SUNY offered tuition reimbursement. So, in order to keep Burnham, the sap-happy Brookdale trustees decided to match the offer commeasurate w/ Rutgers tuition rate.

NEED TO KNOW: Was the SUNY job offer w/ tuition reimbursement legit?
Or was this another Burnham con job, bought by the sap-happy trustees,
then foisted on working class taxpayers struggling to survive?

The stupid, sap-happy Brookdale trustees failed to note that in 2003, tuition at SUNY was $3400.00 per year with a four year guarantee against increases. Rutgers New Brunswick tuition was then $6390.00.

Burnham’s pay paackge was $300,000 plus a fortune in perks, annual bonuses, and all he could steal……and now the sap-happy trustees gave him $40,000 annually to educate his two children. How does this compute w/ the going rate for tuition at that time?

Outrageously, taxayers paid a total of $267,676 to private universities for Burnham’s kids….so far.

Are the braindead Brookdale trustees that stupid…..mathematical ignoramuses? Or is there hanky-panky going on here? The Trustees kept saturating the over salried/over perked Burnham w/ tax dollars.

Burnham’s $300,000 employment contract forced unaware taxpayers to reimburse Burnham for his kids college tuition amounting to $267,000. AND GET THIS—Three DAYS after he resigned Brookdale under a cloud, Burnham was still salivating for tax dollars—-submitting an application for federal (read taxpayer) student aid on behalf of his son for Monmouth Univ’s 2010-11 school year. Apparently Burnham falsified an official federal document, making no disclosure about his Brookdale deal for reimbursement. His son then received a federal Stafford loan in the amount of $20,400, paid directly to Monmouth University. The university, noting the overpayment, issued a check to Burnham’s son, which Burnham grabbed and deposited into his own bank account; Burnham apparently told the court the stolen money was used to pay for “personal expenses.” Shockingly, Burnham made no effort to repay Brookdale or the federal government (read taxpayers). A handwritten note on the check when deposited said, “Peter Burnham is a good customer. Check is made to son, but he pays the tuition.” This note would indicate Burnham was colluding w/ trustees, keeping secret that taxpayers were the ones paying the kid’s tuition.

How does Burnham’s son qualify for a tax-paid student loan when Burnham was earning in excess of $200,000 annually plus untold thousands in perks at Brookdale—who also ran a lucrative consulting sideline—who cashed out hundreds of thousands in retirement investments before he left Brookdale? Did Burnham own up to all his assets? His banked time payout? His annual bonuses? Is Burnham collecting a state annuity? Did the spendthrift trustees give him a six-figure goodbye bonus when he left under a cloud? How many other govt checks is Burnham cashing—UI, SSI, Social Security, disability, Workmen’s Comp? Was Burnham prosecuted for falsifying official documents to get tax monies?

Hearing about Mayor James reminds me “The Soprano State” chapter that outline his entire rise, corruption, enrichment and fall to power while I was on the beach the other day. Amazing how “voters” re-elected that knucklehead multiple times.

What is scary to me is that there are people who will agree with him that he was railroaded!! They would still vote for him if they could…. It’s like a bad dream

About this Blog

Bob Ingle, Senior Political Columnist for Gannett New Jersey newspapers, on politics in "The Soprano State".

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Debuted October 18, 2010

About the Author

Bob IngleBob Ingle is Senior Political Columnist for Gannett New Jersey Newspapers and co-author of The New York Times' Best Seller, "The Soprano State: New Jersey's Culture of Corruption." Hear him Fridays at 5 p.m. on www.tommygshow.com radio. twitter.com/bobingle99 E-mail Bob

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Chris Christie biography

"Chris Christie: The Inside Story of His Rise to Power," written by Bob Ingle and Michael Symons, offers the first inside portrait of New Jersey’s governor, who in two years as governor emerged as a national Republican Party figure famous for his blunt public statements. The book details Christie’s combative public persona and deep family roots, tracing his improbable political rise from a bruising stint in county government to his anti-corruption crusade as U.S. Attorney for New Jersey. Chris Christie: The Inside Story of His Rise to Power goes behind the scenes to reveal his family life, his public life, and what the future might hold..

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The Soprano State

"The Soprano State," written by Bob Ingle and Sandy McClure, details the you-couldn't-make-this-up true story of the corruption that has pervaded New Jersey politics, government, and business for the past thirty years. From Jimmy Hoffa purportedly being buried somewhere beneath the end zone in Giants Stadium in the Meadowlands, through allegations of a thoroughly corrupt medical and dental university, through Mafia influence at all levels, to a governor who suddenly declares himself a “gay American” and resigns, the Garden State might indeed be better named after the HBO mobsters.

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